Regional Picks: Alternatives to Troublesome Plants – Northwest

TroublesomePlant –Fall asters

( Symphyotrichum novae - angliaecvs . )

1. ‘Mönch’ Frikart’s Aster

Name:Aster×frikartii‘Mönch’

USDA hardiness zones:5 to 8

Size:2 to 3 feet improbable and wide

term : Full sun to partial tone ; well - drained soil

I make love asters for the color they bring to the fall garden , but they often grow too grandiloquent , need staking and pinching , are prostrate to mildew , and require frequent class . And for all this upkeep , they blossom for only two to three weeks . There is , however , one aster that blooms almost doubly as long — jump in midsummer and continuing until Robert Frost . ‘ Mönch ’ Frikart ’s aster has 2 - inch - wide , lavender daisy bloom on arching bow , which form a shaggy-coated mound that needs no living . The plant slowly thrive from a woody base to make a noninvasive pillow of purple that blends well with any color in the garden . An added plus is that I have never examine mould on this plant .

Troublesome Plant –Petasites

( Petasites japonicus )

2. Umbrella Plant

Name:Darmera peltata

Zones:5 to 9

Size:3 to 4 foot tall and broad

Conditions : Full sun to partial shade ; moist soil

Everyone enjoy forget - me - not for its beautiful blue bloom , but many gardener will not leave it in their beds because it is an strong-growing seeder and becomes a mildewed kettle of fish after flower . Navelwort , a forget - me - not relative , is a easy spreading , bounce - blooming ground cover , arrant for carpet under outpouring bulbs . The cultivar ‘ Starry centre ’ is especially eye - get because its flowers have deep naughty , white - edged stripes radiate from the center , creating a starlike effect . The industrial plant prefers nerveless , fly-by-night conditions but will tolerate some drouth .

TroublesomePlant –Forget-me-not

( Myosotis sylvatica )

3. ‘Starry Eyes’ Navelwort

Name:Omphalodes cappadocica‘Starry Eyes’

Zones:6 to 8

Size : Up to 10 inch tall and 16 in full

Conditions : Partial to full shade ; moist dirt

Big circular leaves are valuable in the garden as a contrast to other leafage shapes , and they make capital focal item . Although petasites has monster leaves , it come with a monster attitude , too , unfold alarmingly in one season . The huge leaves are commonly riddled with slug holes , and they droop pathetically in the sun . Umbrella industrial plant , a Northwest indigene , has rounded leave of absence that often reach 2 foot across on 3- to 5 - foot - improbable stems . slug seem to brush aside it , and it can grow in full sun if it has some moisture . In early fountain , two - intone pink flowers in rounded clustering look on leafless stem , yield it a somewhat alienlike appearance . In fall , the large leaves become lovely tincture of Bolshevik .

Sharon Nyenhuis is a landscape intriguer in Sequim , Washington .

Photos : # 1 ( troublesome ) and # 3 ( troublesome ) Brandi Spade ; # 1 ( option ) , Ann E. Stratton ; # 2 ( troublesome ) , Steve Aitken ; # 2 ( alternative ) , Michelle Gervais ; # 3 ( alternative ) , Joshua McCullough

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Regional Picks: Alternatives to Troublesome Plants - Northeast

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